Drunk Confessions
by Longing for Oblivion
Summary: Postep to "Pay to Play". We know that Liz and Colby went to grab a beer, but what happened after the end of the episode? Here's my version of events! When Robin cancels their date Don can't stop thinking about Liz being with Colby and having a few drinks too many lead to him ending up at Liz's... R&R!


**Discs.: I don't own Numb3rs nor its characters!**

**A/N: Here's another li'l oneshot by me (okay it's not ALL that 'little')...I honestly can't remember how I came up with this, but I chose to write it anyways. And I kinda gotta admit that I actually start liking the idea of Liz and Colby having a thing, though I will always ship Don/Liz in the end - but I can't help having a thing for writing triangle stories and it's just way too mean to make Robin end up heart broken every time, now isn't it? ;-D**

**Anyways it takes place right after "Pay to Play" and contains slightly spoilers from "Longshot" 'til the already mentioned "Pay to Play" episode. Any OOC bahavior on Don's side can be blamed on him being totally smashed...**

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* * *

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Drunk Confessions

Don couldn't help but frown angrily as he was sitting on his bed. As he took another gulp of his beer, realizing that the bottle was now empty, he released an upset sigh and grabbed another one from the floor. He had by now lost count of how many beers he had already had, but he was way too angry as that he would give a shit about that in the first place.

After a moment he looked up from his cell phone he was holding in his right hand and glared at his surroundings. For a few seconds he contemplated about why he was actually sitting there, getting more and more drunk and angry by the passing of time.

Well, his anger had already started boiling deep in him as he had watched Liz and Colby leave. He sure as hell didn't like the idea of them having drinks with each other, but he had plans with Robin, right? And he wanted it to work this time...

However, the problem was that just as he got into his car his phone had started ringing and Robin had told him that she won't be able to make it 'cause something had come up at work.

And now he was sitting in his bedroom, his mind running in circles. He just couldn't stop thinking about Liz. Truth been told he was still far from over it, was still in love with her and how was he supposed to forget what they used to have in the first place? He knew he didn't love Robin, he knew the only reason why he didn't end it was because he wanted to prove himself wrong. But now his jealousy was killing him...

After all, he knew that Colby had a thing for Liz, he could tell it by the way his colleague looked at her - always had looked at her. It had been one of the reasons why he had chosen to tell the team about his relationship with Liz, wanting to make sure that they, or more precisely Colby, got the message - Liz was his and his alone!

However, he had messed it up and he had to deal with the fact that they were out to have drinks. He just couldn't stop thinking about what they were doing in this moment, his imagination running wilder by the second...

After a moment of thinking he lifted his right hand and opened his phone. Choosing speed dial he emptied the bottle he was holding and stared for a few seconds at the name on the display. But eventually he closed the phone and got up, coming to the conclusion that he didn't want to just call her - he wanted, _**needed **_to see her.

So he headed for the door, grabbing his keys on the way out. Getting into his car, he thought about the fact that he shouldn't drive as drunk as he was, that it was wrong to head over to her place, but he turned the engine on and drove away anyways.

* * *

Liz couldn't help but grin as she listened to Colby.

"So, the guy just stares at us absolutely not getting what we're talking about...And David keeps trying to make him understand that he had been screwed, that the chick he had met the other night had spiked his drink with Rohypnol and had stolen his cash, his stereo, his car - everything - and that she hadn't been a woman in the first place."

"What did he say?" She asked, giving Colby a curious glance, trying hard not to laugh.

"Well, he kept insisting that we were wrong - after all, he and his "girlfriend" had been crazy in love and had wanted to run off to Vegas to get married." Colby paused to take a sip of his drink,

"We figured he didn't kill the guy considering that he was still incapable of believing that he had fallen for that entire scheme..."

"Poor guy..." Liz muttered, shaking slowly her head.

"Yeah..." Colby grinned for a moment then he lifted his right hand and brushed a strand of hair out of her face.

At his soft touch Liz took a closer look at his face. She immediately noticed the longing in his eyes, realized that his hand was still brushing softly over the skin of her left cheek and how close their faces were. A few seconds later Colby closed the remaining space, their lips meeting in a tender kiss and her eyes flew shut.

He wound his one hand into her hair, resting the other one on her hip, drawing her closer to him as their kiss became more passionate. She could feel his lips part, felt his tongue seeking access to her mouth which she granted him after a few seconds of hesitation.

To her it seemed like the time was suddenly passing much slower than before, like everything was happening in slow-motion, while her mind was trying to catch up and process the situation. She had to admit that it felt good to be kissed by him, and after all, Colby was a great guy, he won't hurt her, he would never mess with her to use Don's words.

As her mind drifted off to Don she couldn't help but get overwhelmed by a wave of pain and guilt, causing her to pull away from Colby. She just couldn't do this...

The truth was she was still in love with Don, was still far from over it - damnit, what she felt for him was not even in the same universe as 'over it' or anywhere near that! And as good as Colby's proximity felt he could never make her feel the way Don had done, was still doing...

But then again Colby was a great guy, he would give her the world and more, she knew that, knew he had a thing for her and therefore she could do this even by far less. After all, he didn't deserve this, didn't deserve to be just a way to forget her pain - and she knew that it could never be more for her than that, to her it could never become more than a friendship with benefits and that wasn't her style nor did she want to hurt him by giving him the impression that she might feel the same. He would inevitably get his heart broken and she couldn't do that to him, after all, she cared about him though only as her friend, not as her lover.

Eventually Liz looked at him, afraid of what she would find in his eyes. She put on a smile and broke the silence, feeling like she needed to explain, however, she couldn't tell him the truth, couldn't tell him that she still loved Don, 'cause she knew it would hurt him even more, so she settled for a little white lie.

"Listen Colby, I should better leave...I mean, it's already quite late and we both have to get up early..." It wasn't even that far from the truth, as she went on she paid a lot of attention to the choice of her words, fighting the urge to apologize considering that it would only increase the pain she had already caused,

"It was a great evening..."

She saw him smile, but it didn't quite reach his eyes, she felt terrible for hurting him and she could tell that she had indeed hurt him. He let go of her as he nodded in agreement, watching how she pulled out her wallet to pay her drinks. A moment later she got up and headed to the door.

Stepping out onto the pavement a sigh escaped her mouth, this had probably been such a bad idea to begin with, but she had hoped that she could forget at least for a while about Don and have a good time with Colby. God, if she had known that the evening would end like this she won't have tagged along with Colby...

Liz let her head hang as she headed to her car, trying to understand why she felt so guilty for the kiss she had shared with Colby, why she felt like she had cheated on Don even though they had been over now for quite a while. It was simply beyond her why she had such a hard time to move on, after all, he was now with Robin. At that thought she couldn't help but release a few tears, knowing that he was currently with the dark-haired federal prosecutor...

_At Liz' place :_

Getting out of her car Liz couldn't help but frown for a moment as she noticed a familiar car being parked just a few feet away, however, after a moment of thinking she brushed it off as a result of her imagination running wild.

Searching for the key for the front-door she went to mentioned door, not paying much attention to her surroundings. Therefore she was completely startled as she looked up and saw Don sitting in front of her door.

As he noticed her approaching he got up and she couldn't help but notice that he had trouble keeping himself on his feet. When she had reached the door she took a closer look at him. He was still wearing the same clothes he had worn during the day and there was something in his eyes that worried her, though she wasn't quite sure what exactly it was.

Unlocking the door she wondered for a moment whether she should let him in or not. But considering that there had to be a reason for his presence she simply stepped aside after entering her apartment and waited for him to follow her inside.

After she had closed the door she gave him a questioning glance and asked :

"What are you doing here?"

"I needed to see you..." He admitted, letting his shoulders hang,

"I love you."

Liz just stared at him for a few seconds then she wanted to know, as she noticed the redness in his eyes :

"Are you drunk?"

"I'm sober enough to know what I'm doing, what I'm saying..." He looked her straight into her eyes, stepping slightly closer,

"I know I'm still in love with you, Liz...And I think you still love me as well."

Hearing that she felt her wells starting to break as her eyes filled with unshed tears.

"How dare you...You're with Robin, so don't tell me you love me, 'cause we both know it's a lie! Not to mention that you're so drunk that you can hardly keep yourself on your feet!" She yelled, angry about the fact that he was able to see right through her so easily, angry that he still had so much power over her. And after all, he was totally drunk, probably he won't even remember the things he said the following day - and if he did she was sure he'd regret everything.

* * *

Her words were not all that far from the truth, he was really quite drunk and could barely keep standing, but he sure as hell wasn't lying. In fact a tiny part of him - the part that actually cared about Robin - wished she was right with that assumption, 'cause if he was lying when saying that he loved Liz things would be so much easier.

Looking at her, seeing her tears breaking free, he couldn't help but feel guilty. He knew that his words were hurting her, that she had probably tried hard to move on and he was currently taking a smash-hammer to the pieces of her heart that she had put back together so far.

After a few seconds he stepped closer to her, closing slowly the space between them. When he was standing right in front of her he lifted his left hand to her face, starting to softly caress her cheek. He could feel her shaking and for a moment he wondered if it was because of him and if so, whether it was someting good or bad.

"I'm sorry, Liz..." He hoped she knew that he meant it,

"I didn't mean to hurt you." And he wasn't only refering to the current moment, but also to what he had put her through before,

"But I simply realized that I can't be without you...I love you and I can't keep living a lie, acting as if I was happy with her." God, he couldn't even bring himself to use Robin's name in front of her...For a moment he hesitated, but then he leaned closer and kissed her softly onto her forehead, causing Liz to close her eyes.

As she looked back at him he wiped away her tears and told her :

"I tried to forget what we had, but I just can't..." He placed another kiss onto her skin, this time on her left cheek,

"I know I screwed it up and that you deserve someone, something better, but I just love you way too much as that I could stand the thought of you being with someone else. Damnit Liz, ever since I watched you leave with Colby earlier I couldn't stop wondering what he was doing with you...The thought of you being with him was killing me, it made me so mad to even imagine him touching you that I wanted nothing more than hurt him..."

* * *

As she listened to his words Liz tensed up, wanting nothing more than yelling at him once more, to slap him for saying these last few things, to tell him about kissing Colby just to hurt him as much as he was hurting her.

But she couldn't do any of these things. Him being so close was making it impossible for her to be mad at him, instead she started feeling intoxicated by the soft touch of his fingertips and the sensations those feather-like kisses he was brushing against her skin between his words were evoking in her. God, there was nothing she would rather do than believing what he was telling her...

However, she couldn't - at least not yet.

"So, you're just here 'cause you're jealous?" She wanted to yell the question at him, but instead her voice was shaking as her eyes filled once more with tears,

"You only want me 'cause you don't want me to be with someone else, do I get this right? I mean, just a few hours ago you basically pushed me verbally into Colby's arms and now you're jealous?! What gives you the goddamn right to be jealous in the first place?! Is this just some sort of game to you, you come to me, make me fall for you all over again just to break me down when you had your way?"

She watched him close his eyes for a moment, then he started shaking slowly his head and looked back at her face. They locked eyes and he let his fingers slide through her hair.

"Yeah, I am jealous - but that's not why I'm here...I'm here because I had to see you. I need you, Liz..." He kissed her again, this time onto her lips, it was a short, soft kiss, but it was enough for her to forget everything else...

She just forgot about all the pain he had caused her, forgot that not even an hour earlier Colby had kissed her the exactly same way, forgot that Don wasn't even supposed to be there, that he would probably only hurt her again - simply _**everything**_...

Liz couldn't help but close her eyes as Don wrapped his right arm around her waist while his left hand kept caressing her cheek.

"Ever since you transfered to Narcotics I can't forget what you said before you left that evening...You said I was stuck with us - and to be honest I still am. I will never be able to let go of what we had 'cause I simply love you way too damn much. And something else that I realized since then is that what we had was the right thing...I will never be able to love someone else the way I love you, I mean, it's not like I didn't try to make things work with Robin, but it just doesn't feel right."

As much as she tried to deny it she could tell by the way he looked at her that he was telling the truth and that fact made it so much harder not to simply give in to what she wanted the most....

"Goddamn it! Whenever I sleep with her I feel terribly guilty - as if I'm cheating on you. When I lie awake at night, watching her sleep next to me I can't help but feel like it shouldn't be her lying there. Often enough when I'm with her I close my eyes, trying to tell myself that it's you and not Robin that I touch, that I kiss - that I hold in my arms..." He paused for a few seconds, his eyes now glistening with tears of his own,

"But each time I open my eyes I have to face the fact that it's not you, when I wake up feeling someone lying next to me I hope so much to find you there, but when I turn around it's Robin...It breaks me every time a little more...And I just can't take this anymore, Liz..." He leaned in kissing her, this time more passionate,

"You're the only one for me, if I can't have you I'd rather die before being with someone else." With that he pulled her into a tight, yet tender embrace, planting several kisses onto her forehead before resting his chin on her head.

His last words scared her somehow, sure he was drunk, but the way he had said it was putting her on edge. There had been a finality to his words that just scared the hell out of her.

"How am I supposed to believe a single word you said? You've gotten yourself totally smashed, do you really wanna tell me that you won't change your mind as soon as you're sober? I mean, if you actually remember anything you said when you wake up tomorrow that is." Her voice wasn't accusing at all, instead it was soft, her conflicting emotions clearly evident to both of them.

"Trust me Liz, I won't change my mind...I love you." With that he tugged a strand of hair behind her ear and smiled softly at her.

Only a moment later he started kissing her again, first her lips, then he traced her jaw-line with feather-like kisses, before placing a soft kiss just beneath her left ear and beginning with trailing kisses down the side of her neck.

And it just felt way too damn good what he was doing to her as that she could resist any longer, her defenses crumbling repidly and when he returned his lips to hers in a hungry kiss her last resolves vanished into thin air.

Sure she knew that it was dangerous to give in to what she wanted so badly, to give him what he seemed to want just as much as she herself did. He was like a fire that could get outta control any second, but she won't be Liz Warner if she didn't love playing with fire, if she didn't love the danger radiating from him - even though she had already gotten burnt once before...

So she didn't tell him to stop when his hands wandered down to the rim of her tank top and began lifting it up, nor could she help but shiver as his fingertips brushed over her stomach. Truth been told, she had longed for this ever since he had called it off, had yearned for his touch, his kisses.

* * *

A moment later she lifted her arms to allow him to pull tank top over her head and discard it to the floor, their lips locking almost immediately again.

His sweatshirt-jacket and t-shirt soon accompanied her top and he couldn't help but smile against her lips as she let her hands roam over his now bare chest. Biting her neck he lifted her up and started carrying her to her bedroom.

Lying her down on her bed he simply smiled at her for a moment before he bent down to share another kiss with her and undoing her belt and the button and zipper of her pants. As he pulled them down her legs he took the time to look at her, mesmerized by her beauty he let his eyes wander.

It didn't take long 'til he heard her chuckle and a few seconds later Liz got up on her knees, planting a kiss onto his left cheek, then one onto his jaw as her hands were busy undoing the button and zipper of his jeans.

He couldn't resist to draw her close to him as their lips met in a hungry kiss and he unclasped her bra, dropping it to the floor. He felt her hands sneak to his shoulder-blades and before he even realized it she leaned back, pulling him down with her, though he would sure as hell not complain.

God, he had really missed her those passed few months, had missed feeling her skin against his fingertips, had missed the taste of her lips, had missed breathing in that intoxicating scent of her and therefore he took his time to paint her skin with feather-like kisses, his fingertips brushing softly over her body.

A smile appeared on his face as he heard her moan softly, her right hand wound into his hair as the left one wandered down his back. Eventually he placed a tender kiss onto her lower stomach, his hands reaching for the rim of her panties and pulling them down, before discarding his boxers.

* * *

As he bent down to kiss her, Liz couldn't help but smile against his lips. Placing her hands at the back of his neck she pulled him closer. Maybe this was just how it was meant to be? Them together, not giving a damn about anything else...

Breaking away in need for some oxygen Don gave her a questioning glance and she simply smiled, drawing his face down again for another kiss to answer his silent question. She knew she would probably hate herself the next morning in case he had lied about his feelings, about not going to change his mind, but it just felt way too damn good to be with him as that she could care about that right now.

When he entered her a moment later he placed a kiss onto the side of her neck and her eyes flew shut for a few seconds. The last thing she thought about before her mind chose to take a break was the question how she had managed to get through those passed months since their break-up, but then again - what did that matter now anyways?

* * *

Getting out of his car Colby took a glance at his watch. It was only about three in the morning, but considering that he couldn't find to sleep anways he might as well spend the time doing something useful, namely finishing some of his left paperwork.

Entering the building and stepping into one of the elevators he released a frustrated sigh. Maybe burying himself in work could distract him from his thoughts, from his imagination running wild.

As he arrived on their floor he chose to head first to the break-room and get himself some coffee, before returning to the bullpen and taking a seat at his desk. He turned on his PC and opened his iTunes, for he had been way too deeply lost in his thoughts as to take his iPod with him and doubting that he could stand the silence around him for any longer.

After plugging the earphones he was keeping in one of the drawers of his desk in and clicking play he grabbed the file from the top of the pile, starting to read it through.

However it didn't take long before his mind drifted off from the file and toward the reason for being still so wide awake. Damnit, he just couldn't stop thinking about Liz, couldn't forget the kiss they had shared.

God, it had felt so incredibly good to feel her so close...

He could almost still feel her warm breath on his face, could still taste her on his lips. He knew he would never be able to forget that moment when their lips had met, the memory already being burnt deeply into his brain, making it simply impossible that it could ever be erased.

Eventually a sad expression crossed his face as he remember how she had tensed up after a moment and had pulled away, refusing to look at him. At first he had thought he had done something wrong, but when she had finally looked back at him he saw his worst fears becoming reality.

One look into her eyes was enough for him to tell that she had broken away because of Don, because she was still in love with him. He could see the guilt being written all over her face and it broke every inch of his heart into tiny pieces, 'cause it was in that moment that he realized he would _**never **_stand a chance against his boss.

He would never be in the lucky position to call her his, no that was alone Don's privelege - no matter how much he had hurt her, Liz' heart was always going to belong to him and even if she ever moved on there was simply no chance that she would ever love someone the way she had loved him.

It didn't matter at all if Don cared about that, or if he was already with another woman - he was the only one she would ever love with all her heart, 'cause even in case that she fell in love with someone else a part of her heart would always be reserved for Don.

It was beyond him how she could still love him after what he had put her through, but he knew he wasn't objective concerning this one to begin with...After all, he had fallen far too hard for Liz as that he could understand what the hell was drawing her this much to his boss.

For Christ's sake he had laid eyes on her the moment he had first met her back when they had been working on that homocide case at the racetrack. But with everything that was going on back then, mainly the entire working undercover kinda thing, he had kept himself from making a move. And when he had eventually come to the conclusion that despite all the reasons speaking against giving it at least a try, having the chance to be with her would be more than worth it, David had told him that there seemed to be something going on between her and Don.

After that moment he had paid more attention to their way of interacting, the way they looked at each other. And he indeed started to notice the way Don tended to watch her like a hawk when she was talking with another male agent, noticed the way Liz' eyes lit up whenever their boss was around, how she would be the last to leave when it got late.

He couldn't help but wonder how he could have missed all those small hints, the smiles they were exchanging with each other, how Don's fingers would linger against her skin when she handed him a file or something...But then again the entire undercover thing was keeping him a bit too occupied and probably he had also somehow refused to see it.

And his last bit of hope went up in flames as Don chose to put an end to possible rumors and had admitted that he and Liz were indeed dating. That fact had already been enough to tear his heart apart, but after their break-up he had dared to hope that maybe there was actually still a tiny chance that he and Liz could be together, well, of course not right away, but maybe when she had moved on from getting her heart broken by Don.

Well, he had thought she was over it, had thought she was ready for something new, so he had given up fighting against that yearning he felt whenever Liz was around and had kissed her...

* * *

It was still dawning when Don awoke, but he didn't care, refusing to open his eyes anyways. For Christ's sake, his nights tended always to end way too soon - especially when he had just had the most wonderful dreams. And he would be damned if he gave up on holding on to the most recent one just yet!

After all, there was no case so far, and it was still early so there was no reason to rush.

Feeling the warmth of a body next to him he turned around, eyes still shut, and wrapped his arms around the slender body, placing a soft kiss onto the woman's forehead. He felt her snuggling closer to him and he moved his arm to let his fingers slide through her hair, but he was absolutely determined to keep his eyes squeezed shut until his phone would ring and he would get called in on a new case.

After a moment he felt her shift and leaning her head forward so her forehead was pressed against his chest and a few seconds later he heard her mumble softly his name.

As he heard the voice a frown crept onto his face. It just couldn't be, right? It would just be way too damn good as that it good be...For a while he debated with himself if he really wanted to destroy the memory of his dream just to find out that his mind had once more played some evil trick on him. But his curiosity got eventually the better of him - like always. So he opened slowly his eyes just to squeeze them shut again almost immediately as the sudden bright light surrounding him caused a headache to erupt in his skull.

He couldn't help but groan as he tried to will the pain in his head away. When he realized that it won't work he released a frustrated sigh and chose to open his eyes once more, though this time much slower and more careful than before and sat just as careful up.

After getting used to his, still surprisingly bright, surroundings a confused expression appeared on his face, realizing that he wasn't at home nor at Robin's place. However, everything looked strikingly familiar - the walls were painted in a light color, something between white and cream-colored, white furniture, several big windows, turning to look to his left he noticed a white couch with several red cushions lying on it.

Just a moment later he smiled as his mind finally caught up and he fully realized where he was. Looking eventually at the woman lying next to him his smile widened finding his suspicion confirmed.

Lying back down the memories started coming back, causing him to frown all over again as he contemplated about the fact that judging by his headache and his momentarily complete blackout concerning the passed night he had certainly had been indeed completely smashed. But then again he had also been goddamn upset...

Deciding that it was pointless to continue thinking about it he shook absentmindedly his head, what he regretted immediately as the pain in his head increased rapidly. He released a sigh then he turned once again onto his left side, propping himself onto his elbow, and took a closer look at Liz.

He had almost forgotten how it felt to watch her sleep like this, but that didn't matter anymore now, right? Smiling softly he stretched out his right hand, letting his fingertips brush softly over her cheek unable to resist the temptation to touch her, then he let his fingers slide through her hair.

Damn, he hadn't even realized just how much he was actually missing waking up like this, finding her still deep asleep in his arms, feeling her warm body lying next to her...

It didn't take long before she started stirring and his smile turned into a cheerful grin the moment her eyes opened. After a few seconds she turned onto her back and a small smile appeared on her face as she stated just above a whisper :

"You're still here..."

"Yeah...And to be honest I have no intention to leave even a split-second earlier than absolutely necessary."

Looking down at her Don caressed once again her cheek with his right hand.

"Last night was incredible..." She muttered, a grin on her lips, her arms sneaking around his neck and pulling him slightly closer.

Don couldn't help but groan at the sudden movement of his head, a pained expression crossing his features, and he closed his eyes for a moment. He could, however, hear Liz chuckle and opening his eyes again he noticed a mischievious grin on her lips.

"Hangover?" She asked quietly, then she bit her lips in a desperate attempt of keeping herself from laughing, one eye-brow raised as she looked up into his face.

"Save the 'I told you so', would ya? 'Cause you know payback is such a bitch, coming to kick your ass when you least expect it..."

Hearing that Liz burst out in laughter, causing him to wince slightly in pain.

"Poor Donnie..." She stated, looking at him with mock-pity, before pointing out,

"I honestly doubt that you're in any state to make threats like that - you couln't even kick a baby-rabbit's ass right now and you know that just as well as I do. But hey, if ya wanna give it a shot go ahead and bring it on, Eppes. Just keep in mind that I won't hesitate to kick back - and I learnt from the best..."

"Really?" He quipped at that, watching her sit up and they shared a soft kiss.

"Uh-huh..." She assured, then she added,

"And honestly I think you should save your energy for something else..."

"Ya got something specific on your mind?"

"Positive." With that Liz gave him a hungry kiss.

As he pulled away to catch his breath he saw Liz frown so he asked :

"What is it?"

"Does Robin actually know about this? Or did you choose to not tell her right away just in case I won't want you back?"

"To be honest she doesn't know yet, but not because of what you think..." He started.

"Oh, really? What's the reason then?"

"Well, when I was about to head home she called, said something had come up at work and that she would probably be stuck there the entire night...What gave me the time to let my mind wander after I got home - mainly contemplating about you and Colby being out for drinks, and him obviously having a thing for ya, which led inevitably to me getting totally smashed and deciding without much thinking to head over here and wait if necessary the entire night to talk with ya..."

"Well, another good reason for you to not waste any of your energy on unrealistic threats to get payback, 'cause I'm quite sure she's not going to like hearing this."

Don couldn't help but sigh, then he kissed her softly and admitted :

"I sure as hell don't look forward to having that conversation..."

"In case it cheers ya up a bit - I love you, Don." Liz said smiling at him and he pulled her into a tight embrace.

"Yep...Certainly makes the perspective of talking with Robin much more tolerable." He smirked and let his fingers slide through her hair.

* * *

Colby was still busy with working on his paperwork when David walked up to him.

After taking a seat at his desk David gave him a curious glance and wanted to know :

"What are you already doing here? I thought I'd be the first one."

"Well, then you were obviously wrong." Colby retorted harsher than necessary.

"Oh, someone certainly got up on the wrong foot...Why so crumpy, Colby?"

"Just for your knowledge I didn't sleep at all - I'm here since three in the morning, so better watch what you're saying, I'm not in the mood for nonesense." With that Colby focused his attention back onto his work, causing his colleague to sigh and shake his head.

"Where's Don?" David broke the silence once more after a few minutes.

"How am I supposed to know that, huh? Am I now his goddamn babysitter?! I thought it was your duty to keep him from getting himself into trouble?" Colby snapped.

"Okay, I got it - you're having a bad day..." David mumbled in response and decided to do some paperwork of his own.

_About fourty minutes later :_

Colby had just poured some coffee into his cup and was on the way back to his desk when he saw Don walking through the bullpen, heading into his direction. As his boss passed him by on the way to the break-room Colby could tell that something had changed.

However, it took him 'til he had reached his desk and had sat down to figure out what it was. Sure Don looked quite tired and his eyes were slightly reddened, but despite that Colby couldn't help but notice that he seemed way more happy than he had just the other day.

In fact Don hadn't seemed as happy as right at this moment ever since Leah had been killed...And that realization could only lead to one conclusion - he was back together with Liz. Feeling something break deep inside of him he put his cup back down and got up.

"I'll go and grab a bite for breakfast, gonna be back in about half an hour." Seeing David nod he headed to the elevators to get out of the building.

On his way out of the building Colby couldn't help but feel the urge to turn around and tell Don straight to his face about the fact that he and Liz had kissed each other, but he resisted, after all, what good would that do him?

It won't earn him anything but trouble, so as much as he wanted to wipe that damn grin from Don's face, he just kept walking, trying to get his anger under control. Well, it had been inevitable that they ended up back together, hadn't it?

Colby couldn't help but release a frustrated sigh. At least he knew now how it felt to catch a glimpse of heaven just to be stuck in hell the next moment, though he could certainly do without that knowledge.

_Back at the office :_

As Colby returned eventually 'cause they had a new case he forced himself to forget about the passed night, the kiss - about Liz...

Entering the conference-room along with David he heard his colleague say :

"Hey Don, you should probably give Robin a call...I just got off the phone with 2By4's lawyer - he complained that Robin has chosen to cancel the deal they had agreed on."

"And that's our problem, because...?" Don stated in response, a frown on his face,

"After all, the case is closed - making a deal with the guy, or not, is the decision of the prosecutor's office, not our's."

In that moment his cell phone started ringing and he left the room as he answered the call.

"Apparently Robin is in just the same bad mood as you..." David mused, a grin on his face.

Watching Don walk away Colby couldn't help but shake slowly his head. Well, it figured - Don broke up with Robin to get back together with Liz and now they had to dodge the bullets the federal prosecutor fired back.

"Yep, they are most definitely back together..." Colby mumbled quietly, lost in thought.

"Who's back together?" David asked, causing Colby to focus his attention back onto his colleague.

"Don and Liz..."

After a moment of consideration David nodded slowly and muttered :

"Explains a lot..."

* * *

Walking out of the conference-room Don couldn't help but sigh. After leaving Liz' apartment and stopping by at his place to change he had headed to Robin and told her that he couldn't keep seeing her 'cause he was still in love with Liz.

However, he had chosen to leave out the fact that he had spent the night with Liz or that he was already back together with her. Nonetheless he had known from the beginning that he was going to feel quite some heat for breaking up with Robin...

"Don?" He heard Liz' voice on the other end of the line and suddenly remembered the cell phone at his ear.

"Sorry, what were you saying?"

"I wanted to know if you already heard about Robin canceling the deal with 2By4?" She repeated patiently.

"Eh, yeah David told me that the lawyer has called and complained..."

"How long do you think she will be mad at you?" Liz asked after a moment of silence.

"I got no idea...But I doubt it will take long considering that I think she saw it coming all along."

"I hope so..."

"Me too..." He paused, then he wanted to know,

"Hey, how about having dinner together tonight?"

He heard her chuckle for a moment, before replying :

"Well, sounds good to me - though I'm not sure if you're gonna make it 'til dessert with that terrible hangover of yours..."

_End_

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**A/N: Hope you liked it! Please take the time to review!**


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